Three die after cabin cruiser capsizes in heavy seas

Three people died yesterday after a cabin cruiser capsized in heavy seas as it left Whitby harbour on the Yorkshire coast in a force eight gale.

Two men and a woman were rescued after the seven metre cabin cruiser overturned at around 12.15pm. North Yorkshire police said the woman was airlifted from the scene by a RAF rescue helicopter but later died at James Cook hospital in Middlesbrough. The two men rescued by the Whitby lifeboat both died later.

It is believed the boat turned over as it tried to turn round in mountainous seas and return to the harbour. "The weather was atrocious and when we saw the cabin cruiser heading out of the harbour we tried to warn them not to go out but couldn't get through," said Roy Weatherill, Whitby lifeboat operations manager. "The lifeboat launched very quickly and the crew did an absolutely magnificent job to recover the two people from the water."

Weatherill said five-metre waves were crashing against the boat.

He watched the drama unfold before him as a colleague tried to raise the skipper on the radio. "I was looking down the harbour and saw this cabin cruiser pulling out.

"I thought he was just running his engine out as some people do but then I noticed he was proceeding to the harbour entrance. Our mechanic tried to raise him three times on the VHF radio."

Weatherill said heavy seas engulfed the vessel and it disappeared from view. "I lost sight of him. He may have thought the conditions were not as bad as they had been as he got clear of the harbour entrance but then realised that he had reached the point of no return and attempted to manoeuvre the boat to come back in but he was hit by one large wave."

He did not know why the skipper of the vessel attempted to leave the harbour in the atrocious conditions. Members of the lifeboat crew tried resuscitation and gave first aid to the victims before paramedics arrived at the scene.

"The guys tried to give mouth-to-mouth and first aid. That was their priority until the paramedics took over. They are naturally very upset," he said, adding that he could not comment on whether the woman and two men involved were wearing lifejackets.

"At the time, a force eight gale warning was in force," added Chris Coulter, coastguard sector manager for Whitby. "We always advise anyone putting out to sea to keep an eye on the weather forecast and, if unsure, seek advice from the coastguard or local lifeboat station about conditions."